If you’re between 18 and 25 and building a startup — especially in AI — read these words from Elon Musk, shared live at Y Combinator’s AI Startup School, save them, and revisit them often.
- Prepare for Failure. Seriously.
Victory isn’t guaranteed on the first try, but resilience is non-negotiable. Musk started SpaceX expecting to fail. “I told myself, ‘Most likely, we’ll die. But a small chance at success is better than none.’”
- Truth Above All.
Startups don’t collapse because of competitors—they crumble when founders lie to themselves. Musk emphasized that a ruthless commitment to truth is critical for AI safety. “If you make AI believe falsehoods, it becomes dangerous. The same applies to startups.”
- Aim to Be Useful, Not Famous.
Forget hype, awards, or likes. The only metric that matters is real impact multiplied by scale. “Don’t chase fame—chase work. How useful were you times how many people you reached—that’s the formula.”
- Kill Your Ego Before It Kills Your Business.
Thinking you’re a genius too soon shuts down feedback and control. “Internally take responsibility and ditch the ego. If the ego-to-ability ratio gets too high, you lose touch with reality.”
- Think from Scratch, Not by Analogy.
“That’s how it’s always been done” is the worst excuse. Break everything down to its basics and rebuild. Musk explained, “People say rockets cost $X because they always have. I use first principles: What materials? What’s the minimum cost? That’s the gap between what is and what’s possible.”
- Do Whatever It Takes. Even Mop the Floors.
If a task moves your startup forward, do it—regardless of how “lowly” it seems. “You do everything required for success, grand or simple. I slept in a data center and ran cables myself at 3 a.m.”
- The Future Is Coming Unchecked.
AI isn’t spiraling out of control in sci-fi—it’s happening in the next few months. Be ready, or risk being left behind. “We’re at the start of an intelligence explosion. Digital superintelligence could emerge this year, or next. Soon, humanoid robots will outnumber humans 5-to-10 times. Human intelligence will be less than 1% of the total.”
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Takeaway: Don’t build “just another” neural network, marketplace, or “better-than-competitor” product. Create what the world truly needs — even if it hasn’t figured out how to ask for it yet. Musk’s advice is a call to action for young founders to think boldly and act decisively in this AI-driven era.
